A video game compilation is a type of product bundling in which different video games are available for purchase as a special collection. [1] They are often stored on the same physical media or digital package, making use of menu interfaces that allow players to select the game they want to play. [2] They are a form of video game preservation.
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The Nintendo Entertainment System received official multicart compilations that re-released earlier games, such as Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt / World Class Track Meet . [3] In the early 1990s, Codemasters, an unlicensed publisher, used multicarts to release brand new games in their Quattro compilations. [4] Action 52 , released by Active Enterprises, is infamous for its low quality. [5] Pirate Nintendo compilations often included ROM hacks that replaced character sprites. [6]
In the 1990s, video game consoles saw compilations of older arcade games, such as Arcade's Greatest Hits and Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits , while Windows computers received compilations of console games, such as the Sonic & Knuckles Collection . [7] Three Wonders is unusual for a 1991 arcade machine for being a compilation of three games. [8]
Renewed interest in retrogaming has motivated the release of multiple compilations in the 2010s and 2020s, [9] [10] such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection [11] and the Irem Collection series. [12] [13] [14]
Columns is a match-three puzzle video game released by Jay Geertsen in 1989. Designed for the Motorola 68000-based HP 9000 running HP-UX, it was ported to Mac and MS-DOS before being released commercially by Sega who ported it to arcades and then to several Sega consoles. The game was subsequently ported to other home computers, including the Atari ST.
In video game parlance, a multicart is a cartridge that contains more than one game. Typically, the separate games are available individually for purchase or were previously available individually. For this reason, collections, anthologies, and compilations are considered multicarts. The desirability of the multicart to consumers is that it provides better value, greater convenience, and more portability than the separate games would provide. The advantage to developers is that it allows two or more smaller games to be sold together for the price of one larger game, and provides an opportunity to repackage and sell older games one more time, often with little or no changes.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, released as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Turtles in Time in Europe, is a beat 'em up arcade video game produced by Konami and released in 1991. A sequel to the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game, it is a scrolling beat 'em up type game based mainly on the 1987 TMNT animated series. Originally an arcade game, Turtles in Time was ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992 under the title Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time, continuing the numbering from the earlier Turtles games released on the original NES. That same year, a game that borrowed many elements, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist, was released for the Sega Genesis.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist, released in Europe as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist and in Japan as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Return of the Shredder, is a 1992 side-scrolling beat 'em up game developed and published by Konami for the Sega Genesis, based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book characters. It was Konami's debut title for the Genesis. The game was re-released as part of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection in 2022.
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, released in Japan as The Super Shinobi II, is a 1993 hack-and-slash platform game developed and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the direct sequel to the previous The Revenge of Shinobi. The game was intended to be released in 1992 and to be very different from the final version of the game in terms of levels and storyline. Shinobi III received critical acclaim. It's been ranked among the greatest Mega Drive/Genesis games.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up released by Konami for the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan in 1991 and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1992. It is the third video game iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the NES. The game features play mechanics similar to the previous game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game, but it is an original title for the NES without any preceding arcade version. It is based on the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, being released after the show's 5th season. The game was re-released as part of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection in 2022.
Sega Ages is a series of video game ports, remakes, and compilations published by Sega. It consists of Sega arcade games and home console games, typically those for the Sega Genesis and Master System. The series was launched on the Sega Saturn in 1996. Entries were published for the PlayStation 2 as Sega Ages 2500, a reference to its bargain ¥2500 price point. The series later came to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as Sega Ages Online, and finally to the Nintendo Switch as simply Sega Ages. The name Sega Ages is a palindrome, with "Ages" being "Sega" backwards — this was previously used by Sega in European marketing strategies from the late 1980s to early 1990s.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, or Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Tournament Fighters in Europe, is the title of three different fighting games based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, produced by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, and Super NES and released during a period between 1993 and 1994. Konami produced a different fighting game based on the franchise each featuring a differing cast of characters for the platforms. All three versions of the game were re-released as part of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection in 2022. with online play using rollback netcode for the SNES version of the game.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, known as Geki Kame Ninja Den in Japan and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in Europe, is a 1989 side-scrolling action-platform game for the Nintendo Entertainment System released by Konami. In North America it was published under Konami's Ultra Games imprint in the US and the equivalent PALCOM brand in Europe and Australia.
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi, also known simply as Shadow Dancer, is a side-scrolling action game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis in 1990. It is the second game in the Shinobi series released for the Mega Drive, following The Revenge of Shinobi. However, it is not a continuation of the previous game, but rather a loose adaptation of the 1989 arcade game Shadow Dancer. Like in the original arcade game, the player controls a ninja followed by a canine companion. The Secret of Shinobi was well received by critics.
M2 Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher, best known for handling emulation of re-released games, such as some Sega Ages titles, Virtual Console titles for Nintendo systems, the 3D Classics series for the Nintendo 3DS and their ShotTriggers range of classic STG games. M2 has also created entirely new titles such as WiiWare games for Konami under the ReBirth moniker and more recently a new GG Aleste game. In addition, M2 currently holds the rights of Aleste series and all NEC Avenue and NEC Interchannel games on TurboGrafx-16 and variants, previously owned by Lightweight.
Quattro is a series of video game compilations released in the 1990s. They consisted of games developed by Codemasters. The NES versions were released as multicarts and were published by Camerica without a license by Nintendo.
3D Classics is a label applied to certain updates of old games for the Nintendo 3DS, with added stereoscopic 3D functionality and updated features while retaining their original art style and graphics. There are two unrelated series of releases under the 3D Classics title: a first-party series of NES/Famicom and arcade games, and a Sega-published, M2-developed set of classic Sega games, mostly from Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega arcade hardware.
Battletoads Arcade, also known as Super Battletoads or just Battletoads, is a 1994 scrolling beat 'em up arcade game in the Battletoads series developed by Rare and published by Electronic Arts. Up to three players, as the Battletoads, brawl aliens and mutant rodents through six levels to save the universe from the Dark Queen. The game also includes vertical and bonus levels. Each Toad has its own signature attack, and as customary for the series, players can knock enemies towards the screen, breaking the fourth wall.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, released in Japan as TMNT: Super Kame Ninja and in Europe as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, is a 1989 beat 'em up arcade game released by Konami. It is based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, including the first animated series that began airing two years earlier. In the game, up to four players control the titular Ninja Turtles, fighting through various levels to defeat the turtles' enemies, including the Shredder, Krang and the Foot Clan. Released during a high point in popularity for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, the arcade game was a worldwide hit, becoming the highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1990 in the United States and Konami's highest-grossing arcade game. Versions for various home systems soon followed, including the Nintendo Entertainment System. A sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, was released in 1991.
Piko Interactive LLC is an American video game publisher based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in early 2013 by Eli Galindo, the company focuses on physical re-releases of games from older video game consoles and digitally released ports to newer systems.
Sega Forever was a service from the Japanese video game developer Sega for re-releasing past games from the company on modern platforms. The service was launched for Android and iOS devices on June 22, 2017. By 2020, the service included over 30 games. In September of 2023 Sega quietly discontinued services by de-listing applications and leaving their social media pages inactive.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is a 2022 beat 'em up game developed by Tribute Games and published by Dotemu. It is inspired by and based on the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series and borrows stylistically from the arcade and home console Turtles games developed by Konami during the 1980s and 1990s. The story follows the Turtles as they set out to stop Shredder and Krang from taking over New York City, whilst facing foes that stand in their way.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is a compilation of video games developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Konami. It features thirteen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games developed by Konami between 1989 and 1994. It was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows via Steam, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on August 30, 2022.